by Bob Walch

In The Survivors Club (Grand Central, $25.99), Ben Sherwood discusses “the secrets and science that could save your life,” not only financially but also physically. He looks at a number of case histories of people who have bounced back from a series of maladies, from  cancer and terrible accidents to non- life-threatening situations.

Reading this fascinating book, you’ll discover why some people are more resilient than others and why regular religious observance can add as many as seven years to your life.

Curious about which is the safest seat on an airplane, what’s the best place to suffer a heart attack, or why righties live longer than lefties? You’ll find the answers in this book.

You may have already suspected that some people really do have all the luck while others are more accident-prone, but now you’ll discover why this is actually so. Also, it may come as a bit of a surprise to learn that birthdays and holidays may actually be hazardous to your health.

If you’d like to know where you fall on the “survivor’s scale,” the author explains how you can measure your own Survivor IQ. The test can be accessed online and takes about 15 minutes. It generates a customized report on your unique survivor personality and top strengths.

Reading The Survivors Club — which is a combination of true stories, surprising scientific research, and accounts of the author’s own experiences in the military’s most elite survival schools and the FAA’s airplane crash evacuation course — may actually give you an edge if you encounter a life-threatening situation.

In these troubled times, many of us wonder if we can make it through this unprecedented economic downturn. Although the author doesn’t supply all the answers to the question “Am I a survivor?”, he does provide plenty of food for thought.